Another ‘Game of Thrones’ episode leaked early via a partner

HBO’s international partners and affiliates should be extra careful going forward: For the second time in a little over two weeks, one of them was responsible for the early leak of an episode before its official airing.

Episode 6, which is set for its broadcast premiere this Sunday, August 20, hit torrent sites after it was aired accidentally by HBO Nordic and HBO España. HBO said a third-party vendor was responsible this time around, and this has nothing to do with the much-publicized HBO hack from the end of July.

‘Game of Thrones’ episode 4 also leaked early, in another instance that was unconnected to the hack. That time around, the leak was also the result of a screwup from a distribution partner – that time, Star India was responsible. Four individuals employed by Star India who had access to the files prior to release were arrested as a result of that leak.

This latest leak looks like an unintentional error, based on HBO’s official comments on the matter, but it’s still likely to result in tighter security practices across the network. Game of Thrones remains one of the most pirated shows around – its season 7 premiere quickly became the most pirated show in 2017, with over 90 million illegal downloads in the first three days alone.

Featured Image: HBO